The Holiday Employment Solution
by WeBuiltThePyramids
Summary: Penny has to work on Christmas day. This does not make her friends happy, so they plot to find a way for her to be able to celebrate with them. And of course, Leonard goes the extra mile. Definite Leonard/Penny romantic slant. For Brit. Merry Newtonmas!


**Day two of three of my Christmas/Saturnalia/Newtonmas gift giving! This fic is for Brit. She gave me the prompt "Christmas morning", Leonard and Penny as the characters, and I went with this. Shortly after midnight is technically Christmas morning. ;) And I added a bit of Shamy and the group as a whole because I know Brit digs those dynamics. :D**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything. Story of my freakin' life.**

"Come on, Leonard, is that really the best that you can do?"

Leonard shrugged. "I can't think of another industry that would have benefited had there been no cast overexposure during the second season of Friends, no."

Sheldon turned to his girlfriend. "Amy?"

"Emu eggs."

Leonard cocked his head. "Oh…you're right. Yes, that makes perfect sense."

"Glad you see it too," Sheldon said, nodding.

"He doesn't get it at all, does he?" Amy asked.

Sheldon looked surprised, as if the thought hadn't occurred to him. "He was bluffing to get us to stop talking?"

"Is he capable of that complex of a thought?"

Sheldon smiled at her. "Good point."

"I'm right here, you know," Leonard said.

"We see you, roomie," Sheldon said, smiling.

Amy reached the apartment building first and pushed the door open, letting her arm hang back to catch the door for Leonard. "Hey, Bestie!" she said, smiling.

Leonard looked up. Penny was at the mailboxes, and she smiled as she turned to see them. "Hey, guys!"

"Merry Newtonmas Eve," Leonard said to her, shifting his bag of food to the other hand.

"Yeah, you guys too," she said, coming over to give Amy a hug. "Any big plans for tonight?"

"No," Leonard said, "we figured since you were working, we'd the Christmas activities Sheldon tolerates for tomorrow so all seven of us could be together."

Penny hesitated. "Oh. Well, actually, I'm working tomorrow." She shrugged. "I need the money and they pay time and a half, so you guys go ahead and celebrate whenever is best for you guys."

"Oh." Leonard paused, and then nodded. "Okay. Okay, well…enjoy your time and a half pay."

She smiled. "I'll be sure to do that. Well I've got to run, I have the night shift tonight, too. So…see you around?"

"Yeah, sure. Hey, Penny!" he called as she moved toward the door. "Would you be willing to come with us to New Year's at Stuart's? We're reigning champs, you know."

She gave him a tight smile. "Yes, I'll be there. But I pitched the wig, so…"

"We'll get you another one," Sheldon said. "Go to work, the sooner you can afford your own Wi-Fi, the better."

* * *

><p>"It's not fair that Penny has to work all day tomorrow," Bernadette said that evening as everyone convened in Leonard and Sheldon's apartment. "Why don't I go in and offer to work half of the day?"<p>

"Because, honey," Howard said gently, "you don't work there anymore."

"I know," she said, "but it just doesn't seem fair that Penny has to spend all day working. She's going to miss watching the movie, and Christmas dinner…" she shook her head. "It's not fair, she works really hard."

Sheldon let out a snort of derision that ended with a pained groan.

Leonard and Howard looked at him in confusion, smirking when they realized that both Bernadette and Amy had stepped on his feet at the same time. "I know what you mean," Leonard said. "I wish we could just make the restaurant shut down for the day so she could be with us.

Raj looked up, glancing at Howard. The engineer thought for a moment, and then clapped his hands together. "That's perfect! We render The Cheesecake Factory unable to serve, and they'll have no choice but to let Penny stay home."

"We could set it on fire!" Sheldon said excitedly. The group grew quiet, and he looked over at Amy. "Was that too much?"

She gave a small smile. "A little bit."

"Still," Bernadette said, "this could actually work, I remember in Catholic school when one girl flushed twelve pencils down the same toilet and shut the place down for the rest of the day."

"Well that's a waste of pencils," Sheldon said, "but an amusing prank."

"Would that work with The Cheesecake Factory?" Howard asked.

Bernadette shrugged. "You've seen their bathrooms."

"Very true." Howard said. "Okay, guys, let's go get a bunch of pencils and prepare to shut down the restaurant's plumbing."

"That is such a dumb idea," Leonard said, remaining sitting. "It's not going to work, and if they catch you you'll never be allowed in that restaurant again. And they can enforce that, they know us and we're not their favorite people."

Sheldon beamed. "You're welcome."

"Do you really have any better ideas?" Howard asked as they moved toward the door. The group exited the apartment and Howard pulled the door shut behind them.

Leonard lay back in the white chair, and then sat up. "Actually," he told the empty apartment, "I do."

* * *

><p>Penny yawned as she climbed the stairs. It was past midnight, and she had to be back at work at ten. Sure, she'd brought it on herself, but that didn't change the fact that she didn't like it. She'd be working her ass off for a few dollars more pay, and while she knew it was responsible she hated not being able to spend Christmas with the guys.<p>

She reached the fourth floor and jumped when 4A's door opened. "Hey Leonard," she said. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," he said. "Want to come in?"

"Now?" She frowned. "It's late."

"I know," he said. "But you won't be here tomorrow, despite a very well thought out plan involving toilets and pencils."

She frowned. "What?"

"Just come in," he said, gesturing, and Penny smiled, deciding to humor him, and stopped short when she saw the tree. "That's not how it was yesterday."

"Nope," Leonard said. "Sheldon refused to participate as usual, and as for my decorating skills…well, you've seen me decorate it. So I took it down. Care to help me?"

She smiled. "I love decorating the tree."

He smiled back. "I know."

She walked toward it, glancing down at the coffee table. "The Grinch," she said affectionately, smiling down at the tape. "Mind if we stick this in while we work?"

"Be my guest," Leonard said. Penny started up the movie and joined Leonard at the tree, and by the time they both turned to look at the screen to see the Grinch's heart grow three sizes, the fir was completely decked out for the holiday.

Penny turned back to Leonard. "Thank you," she said, holding out her arms. Leonard returned the embrace. "Merry Christmas," he whispered.

She pulled back and smiled. "I should probably go to bed," she said.

"Yeah, probably," Leonard said. "But the girls, Howard, and I decided we're going to hold off on festivities until the twenty sixth so you can celebrate with us. I know it's not the same as doing it on Christmas, but…

"But hey, I got to spend the early hours of Christmas morning with you, and that's definitely better than not seeing you guys at all, right?" Penny asked.

Leonard smiled. "I'll stay up late every Christmas eve if it means I can spend some of it with you, Penny," he said.

She cocked her head. "How deeply do I read into that?"

He closed his eyes and nodded a little. "You should go to bed. You've got work in the morning."

She nodded. "Probably." She stepped toward him and grabbed both of his hands. "This means a lot to me, you know, being able to decorate the tree, and watching the Grinch…being at work tomorrow – today – isn't going to seem so bad now. I can't thank you enough."

Leonard removed one of his hands from hers and used it to tilt her chin down, placing a kiss on her forehead. "Get some rest. We're moving our plans for you so you'd better show up here tomorrow in a good mood."

She smiled at him, tipping her chin back up. "I think I'll be in a pretty good mood for a while now." She squeezed his hand and left the apartment, not able to remove the smile from her face.

**Part three of the gift giving is a fanvideo for Amber, so check my channel for that starting tomorrow. Hope you liked this, Brit. Merry Newtonmas!**


End file.
